Staff Spotlight: Sherryl Hernan, Assistant Housekeeping Manager

Six years ago, when the team at the Wickaninnish Inn was searching for employees to fill entry-level positions in Housekeeping, Human Resources Manager Melody McLorie led them to the Philippines to seek out hospitality specialists who wanted to move to the remote West Coast of Canada. In Manila, they met Sherryl Hernan, a graduate of a Hotel and Restaurant Management program with years of restaurant and hotel experience behind her. She became one of four recruits to join the team at the Inn, soon to be known to her colleagues as the “Heart of the Inn.”

“When we first arrived, we were all afraid to speak because we were sure our words would not be pronounced properly and our grammar would be bad,” Sherryl recalls. “Melody was a wonderful mentor, helping us find the confidence we needed in our new lives.”

Sherryl should not have worried about her English. Her hard work and dedication to the Inn’s guests helped her quickly achieve three promotions at the Inn, starting as a room attendant in the housekeeping department and moving on to her current role as the Assistant Housekeeping Manager. Indeed, it is her colleagues who feel they are the lucky ones to have found this charming and gracious addition to the Inn’s organization.

“Being part of the Wick team is like having a second family. The managers care about each of us personally. They have helped me secure my Canadian residency and also helped bring my daughter to Canada,” Sherryl says.

She lives in Tofino with her family: her husband Michael and her two children, Joie, 12, who arrived from the Philippines in 2010, and baby Gavin, who was born in Tofino. But her other family is the team at the Inn, especially her department manager, Christine Mackey.

“We are a close knit group here in Housekeeping,” Sherryl says in her cheery, lilting voice. “We look after each other and help out, no matter how tired we may be. The Housekeeping team operates like a wonderful family, with Christine as the mama. I would not want to work anywhere else.”